泣かないで少しのおおかみ
by Animation Sensation
Summary: Three years of peace in Nippon leaves Amaterasu missing her long gone husband, Tsukuyomi. She encourages Waka to become a prophet again, to help her find the remaining 5 brush gods. After visiting Kamiki Village, Waka and Amaterasu notice Susano and Kushi's mischievous daughter has followed them to their next stop, but could prove to not be who she seems...
1. Prologue

Prologue

* * *

The New Year was approaching Nippon once again. Three years had passed since the child of the sun, Chibiterasu, set his feet amidst the world to save it once again. Demons and Oni somehow found ways to creep through the hole in hell to pass into heaven. It was an unbalanced nature that fell upon the population of Nippon, but three years of peace, and nothing stirring except for occasional human sin, made the lives of the people at rest. The goddess of the sun, who had taken her swift and compassionate heart and sacrificed it for Yamato no Yami's death, was in the heavens now. Her son, Chibiterasu, had provided the same trust, slaughtering the merciless and leaving them no means of ever returning and had returned as well.

In the Celestial Plains, Amaterasu lay in the sun, sitting at the threshold of her home. Only a painting canvas was in front of her as she pressed her knees against her breasts. She took fresh paints made from the richest oils and hues and mixed warm colors of the sun to match her feelings of excitement. Her excitement was for something she had predicted for a long amount of her life. It was as if a new journey was to come to her, a journey that she would find the last five brush gods. Thirteen had been found, but the rest of them had never been mentioned in Nippon, or even the religious books of Shinto before. And one of those brush gods- was her husband. All of them were being held captive in the sinning world of the humans, each in their nature-bound way. An adventurous woman like Amaterasu was excited to save her husband, when in the reality, the humans had pictured it the other way. Humans had always thought differently of marriage then the gods had; humans had always separated males and females and created stereotypes. In heaven, men and women were of equality and shared the same heroic and cowardly traits. Yet Amaterasu found her husband different. He was of no tribe, no humanly source, but of her own blood. The god of the moon, Tsukuyomi, was his name. Tsukuyomi had only once to meet Amaterasu before they married as brother and sister, and soon their first-born son came to them. Amaterasu painted pictures of him, in primary colors, as she wondered how he had changed and how proud he would be of his son when Tsukuyomi would come back to teach him the ways of the brush gods.

It was not long before Amaterasu had spilled her paints with her arms, and recklessly ruined her white and yellow dress. Hearing the loud clank of the paint vase, a servant came rushing to her aid. Her fellow friend, and old friend, took his sandals off and laughed, "Ma Cheerie, you cannot even paint anymore! You think too much of your husband, no? Surely you are not losing your mind!" The voice of UshiWaka made Amaterasu's heart feel friendly and more like a child.

"Of course not, Waka! Have I not painted so well for many years? The only thing I've lost is not my mind… but my dress." Amaterasu laughed embarrassed at her clumsiness. Waka had learned of Amaterasu's marriage, and slowly forgotten his love for her, but he had vowed to be her closest servant at all times. Cleaning the splattered tile floors with rags and buckets of soap, Waka did not seem like a prophet anymore. Occasionally Amaterasu would ask herself, "Have I turned him into my servant because he loves me?" and she would only make herself cringe. But Waka would only joke and smile, not showing his true passion, but showing his admiration for Amaterasu. He always helped her to hold her chin high for Tsukuyomi and his return. Amaterasu changed into her beautiful silk Kimono with blue and white flowers sewed onto it as if it were printed. Taking a look at it and glancing back at Waka made her think about her artwork, and how sometimes, disasters could be turned into masterpieces. Giggling again, she ran out to the patio from her room and slid the bamboo door open roughly. She took Waka by the arm and raised her eyebrows, "Look at the floor", she said with excitement.

"Have I…" Waka stopped as he gazed upon the splatters on the floor, "Have I ruined the tile? I am afraid it had dried! This is…is…!" Waka looked again, but saw more than smudges, he saw color and pattern! Amaterasu's perfection beamed off of her again as she took the rags and threw them to the side. Waka hesitated upon the threshold as he stood in the bright light of the sun, which streamed from the open doors. And he might have stood there and not remembered why he was there in the first place, until Amaterasu kneeled next to him.

"Look my friend, you made this mess so perfect. To me it is a gorgeous work of art. And if not to you, what is it?"

"Ma cheerie, it is…. A mess…"

"No, it is no mess", Amaterasu stroked Waka's blonde hair and whispered, "It's a fixed mistake. And Waka, your place here in the celestial plain, it is a mistake."

Waka shook from Amaterasu's strange words. Surely she was not telling him to leave and never return. How unjust of her! Yet Amaterasu had made her point unclearly.

"You mean I am… a mistake from this painting mess?" Waka asked.

"Not for the least bit! But… I realize now I have a journey… one that has come to me through prayer. Listen to my words, because I can only say them once."

Waka pulled himself and Amaterasu and politely sat her in a bamboo chair. Her silken kimono shined in the sun like her glory and all it was. Waka watched it glisten yet was afraid of Amaterasu' talk, but she made her points clear.

"UshiWaka. For many years I've waited for my husband to return to me. And all of this time I have spent with the wandering artist, Issun, I've found my greatest powers and my weakest disabilities as a wolf. Tsukuyomi had promised me, before the wood sprite called me, that he would protect the celestial plain after you and I defeated the first snake. Yet after I returned with you we had passion for each other. I found myself a human in his arms. Soon I became pregnant with his first-born son, and you have known Chibiterasu. You've brought him up like Tsukuyomi would have, and we are thankful for your generosity and time. But…"

Amaterasu tried to wrap her words and sorrow together for UshiWaka, who was confused at Amaterasu's history lesson. She wrapped her hands into Waka's and watched his blue eyes float around awkwardly.

"My journey is now. I must find Tsukuyomi, I must be the wolf Amaterasu again, and you need to be the prophet again. You are not the servant of the palace- no that was not your born right. Your place is here with me. I need you on my journey."

Amaterasu's choppy sentences were brief, but Waka had gotten the chilling vibe that her quiet words were of serious matters for her. Often times Amaterasu was awake and full of valor, but when she became laid-down and relaxed, it led her to have time to think about her husband, and what had to be done.

Waka then thought of prophesying again, and his sparkling magic that he used for his own will. Sitting high in his tower playing his flute while praying to the gods for signs and miracles. Many childhood memories passed through his mind of his tribe and their power. What power he wished to use again. Looking at Amaterasu's brown almond eyes he pictured the luxury of being her and Tsukuyomi's second-hand.

"Ma cheerie, I can see us arriving to Nippon soon. I can see us… soon finding Tsukuyomi, but under harsh conditions." He prophesied as Amaterasu listening with eagerness kissing her all over her face.

"And what of the harsh conditions?" Amaterasu asked.

Waka told her he had no knowledge of the harsh conditions. The only thing Waka could see again was his sanctuary that he had left floating in the skies of Sei-An City. Back to his books, scrolls, and vast understanding of the sciences and magic. Science and Magic often contradicted, but only to the humans, the gods and even the tribes of the moon had understanding that no human could match to. Waka understood Amaterasu, she wasn't magic or science, she was goddess. She was free of evil, free of pain, or anger, and if she was angry it was only out of love.

As the two of them smiled exchanging their happiness they rose again, and awaited the presence of the wood sprite Sakuya, who would transform them in time.


	2. Chapter 1- Can I Have a Puppy?

When the sun sunk beneath the heavens it rose onto a tiny village to the east of Nippon. Kamiki Village was filled with Cherry Sakura blossoms flying in the air like a flock of gulls to a school of fish. Each and everyone was lit up the grassy ground of the peaceful village. Three years of passing, and the villagers had stayed the same. Mr. Orange was abundant in joy and passion for the songs of the village as he danced to them to please the gods. Mrs. Orange provided food and free washing of clothes for the villagers and passers-by. Mushi and his mother raked their turnip farm and sold their other multiple crops to the near-by merchant, who sold them to visitors from Hana Valley or Shinshu Fields. Mushi's dog, Habushya, remained faithful to Mushi, and had recently had puppies with their other dog, Nikko. Nikko and Habushya were proud parents of their six puppies that pranced around in the turnip yard as Mushi's mother yelled, "Mushi! You better get those god-forsaken dogs off of the turnips! Honestly!". Mushi laughed as if he were a child again even in the midst of his teenager years. He would take his puppies and place them by their house that was fenced for their safety.

Mushi occasionally received a visitor to his flock of puppies. A three-year-old who giggled at the dogs trying to bite her floppy pigtails as if they were toys. They scrambled around the little girl who screamed when the oldest puppy, Yakura, bit her. It was only the nature of young dogs to mature their teeth on the cheeky flesh of anything they could find.

"Ji-joon, you are not hurt are you!?" Mushi put down his hoe and pulled the puppies off of her tiny arms.

"Hahaha! I think this one bited me!" Ji-joon laughed and spoke with her childish language as she tried to punish Yakura. Yakura took the blow as he fell over on his fat stomach.

"I don't think he felt that one! Haha, you're certainly Susano's daughter aren't you?" Mushi joked.

"Daddy hits me when I'm bad so I hitted Yakura too." Ji-Joon spat at the dog, but couldn't ignore the puppies's diamond eyes that begged for play again. Ji-Joon sat herself up as the puppies realized she was larger than them. They ran for their mother quickly.

"Why are the doggies going to mommy?"

"I think they don't like to know how big you are. When you get down on your knees, they think you are another puppy. Isn't that funny?" Mushi tried to educate Ji-Joon, but being ignorant like her father, she did not listen and only ran towards the puppies again. She pulled their tails as they squealed for their mother to rescue them. Nikko barked furiously behind the fence as Mushi pulled Ji-Joon back for safety.

"You really enjoy these puppies a lot don't you?" Mushi asked Ji-Joon who was mesmerized by the movement of the pups.

"Yes I do a lot." She replied. Mushi stood upward and and moved the puppies close to his side for Ji-Joon to see up close.

"Could I interest you to take one home then? After all, I can't take care of them all by myself." Mushi asked Ji-Joon, as she inhaled a large breath of air in surprise. She turned her head very quickly at Mushi and lifted her hands by her chest and screamed, "Yes! I want a puppy!".

Because of her loudness Ji-Joon's mother wandered towards her. Kushi had been tired from harvesting rice all day long, as she did for a living during the spring. When the blossoms faded and the air grew crisp, it was then time for sake brewing, for there was nothing to grow or plant. Leaving her job for a moment was a struggle, because it took long amounts for Ji-Joon to listen to her mother. Kushi surprised her daughter by approaching them with her high voice,

"Ji-Joon why are you speaking so loudly? Are you having fun with the new doggies?" Kushi bent down to pick Ji-Joon in her arms. She had been tired from her daily routine of picking rice and polishing it. It became tiresome after a day to another.

"Mushi said I could have one, please let me pick one- a good one!" Ji-Joon squirmed in her mother's arms, "You see the orange one! Mommy look at the puppy! Can you see him, he's pretty!" Ji-Joon cried for her mother to put her down, but Kushi hugged her tightly.

"Ji-Joon, you don't need a doggie, you have toy doggies at home, don't you? You always play with them, right? Besides, these puppies are here every day so you can visit them." Kushi said, but Mushi hesitated.

"U-um… Well you see, I am afraid that the pups won't be staying much longer…" Mushi shrugged as Kushi and Ji-Joon's eyes widened.

"What do you mean?" Kushi asked, worrying for her daughter's reaction, trying to put a smile on her face.

"My mother is not happy with them. If you haven't learned by now, she cares more about her crops than anything. There will be a festival soon, haven't you heard?"

"No, I haven't..." Kushi muttered.

"The moon festival has arrived again…tomorrow. Every so many years it comes around and they have it in Shinshu fields all the way to Agata Forest! It's full of games and dances, and fun activities for kids like Ji-Joon. Yet, since there are so many people attending, my mother is in charge of making some of the food. We are even making moon cakes… do you know what moon cakes are, Ji-Joon?" Mushi asked, trying to avoid the subject of puppies.

"No, I don't." Ji-Joon replied looking to her shocked mother.

"Ji-Joon, you know what moon cakes are! Hasn't the Nameless man brought you some in the past? It's a pastry with fruit jelly inside!" Kushi explained.

"Yes. Even though the moon festival is celebrated in autumn in the western countries, here we celebrate in the spring." Mushi said.

"So…. You need your crops to make the moon cakes?" Kushi asked, getting back to the subject at hand.

"Yes, and my mother does not want the puppies, because when they develop their legs and muscle, they will need meat. And that is something we are not plentiful of here… Releasing them into the wild… that's all we can do. There is no time to sell them…" Mushi sighed as he looked at Ji-Joon's disheartened face as she slid side to side.

"Mommy, the orange one!" Ji-Joon cried.

"Well Ji-Joon, you'll have to ask Daddy because I do not think he likes animals in the house." Kushi placed her gentle hands on Ji-Joon back.

"Let's go home, we can practice trying on your dress for this festival! We will be there! Maybe you can make friends too! I am certain there are younger girls of your age there! You can light the lanterns, and pick the cotton and place it in the river!..." Kushi mouthed on, but Ji-Joon stood up and waved to her orange puppy. In despair she walked home holding her mother's dress. Kushi watched her walk forward as she sulked. Ji-Joon did not have any friends of her own age. Most of the women around were not young like Kushi, and could no longer produce children. Ji-Joon spent her days learning words in scrolls, and playing with her toys. Occasionally, she visited Mr. Orange to dance and sing, which was her favorite hobby. In her room, Ji-Joon emptied much space so she had room to dance. Ji-Joon made her own music, but after singing and dancing, she grew exhausted and couldn't keep up her speed. Ji-Joon watched her stuffed dog.

"I want you to be real. Come real, please. You can sing for me, and I will dance." Ji-Joon imagined a singing dog looking like her toy, which was grey, with black patches. She stroked the patches and whispered, "Can you sing the _Sakura _song?". Ji-Joon drew back and fell on the floor. "Doggies can't sing! I can't sing!", she pouted as her toy fell on the ground.

After some hours of napping and awaking to her cotton-embraced futon, she observed the lantern floating above her head. Ji-Joon's dark eyes watched it, floating left to right. It seemed as if it had been blowing from the wind, for it was not far from the screen door. Her door opened slowly and creaked as Ji-Joon lifted her eyes to see what was behind. It was every day this occurred, and she had never caught on to the repetition. She limped closer from her bed, innocently, and was startled when her father rushed in and "BWAH" right into her. Ji-Joon knew it was her father, because it was the same voice and the same purple blob that her drowsy eyes saw coming towards her. She screamed for a rescue, but Susano's arms were inescapable. Ji-Joon laughed as she was pulled down and tickled until she choked, which made Susano pause and wait for her to catch her breath.

"Daddy, what are you doing!?" Ji-Joon asked, as if she never encountered it before. Some could say that she said it because she wanted to make her father laugh, and it did.

"What do you mean what am I doing? I've come to see you after twelve hours of not having time with my daughter!" Susano implied with his strong voice.

"What did you do today, Daddy?" Ji-Joon asked, waiting for an anecdote of Susano, which he presented to her every day, whether they had happened or not. Susano always wished for his daughter to look up to him, and for everyone to take note of him.

"Today, I'll tell you! I rallied up the worst and most furious drunkards who were bothering the people of the gateway pass! They were like mindless _oni _wandering around mumbling their forceful gibberish to scare away the passers-by! But I was not afraid! I took my mighty sword, and thrashed their legs until-" Susano stopped as he forget he wasn't talking to an adult. It was at best not to give too much of the circumstance to someone as vulnerable and questionable as Ji-Joon. She would have asked, "Why did you cut them?", or, "What is a drunkard?". His wife constantly reminded Susano that he too was a drunkard at times; it was the irony of his stories, which made them facetious. Susano coughed and re-phrased his story at Ji-Joon's level.

"Daddy made sure they knew…what they did wrong…" Susano implied, not being used to not bragging. Ji-Joon sat up from her fall and scooted over to her shoes. She only had one pair, they were made of skins from animals, usually used by the Oina tribes for snow. "Daddy, am I going to wear these shoes to the festival?" She asked. Susano sat up and replied, "The moon festival? I'm surprised you know about that! Have you been able to read the notice on the merchant's tent?" Susano asked, wondering how his daughter gathered the information.

"Mushi told me. He also-" Ji-Joon remembered the puppy situation, and did not hesitate to make sense of her words, and simply asked, "Daddy, can I have the orange puppy?"

"What? What orange pup?" Susano asked curiously.

"Mushi's dog. Mushi has puppies, they played with me today! They bited me and I fell down again and again!" Ji-Joon said as she expected her father to know what she was talking about. After all, Susano had lived in Kamiki longer than she had.

"You want a dog? Why? There's no need for that filth!" Susano said with sarcasm to avoid his daughter's feelings being hurt," Think of your mother! If it strikes a blow on your mother and causes her to bleed, she could faint! " Susano protested with unlikely precautions. Trying to change Ji-Joon's mind was difficult, because she knew what she wanted, and she want much. Her room, after all, only had one futon, a dresser, a mirror, and three pairs of clothes.

"Daddy, the doggie will be my friend and we could dance together!" Ji-Joon smiled. Susano lifted his arm above his head and ignored her.

"Well.. worry about that some other time…" Susano said, "Now you have to go to sleep, because if you want to stay up late tomorrow, you have to get sleep tonight!" Susano extended his arms so Ji-Joon could slowly walk and fall into them. She pouted, but she did not whine. It was understood that if she whined she would get spanked and left in a corner for some time. Ji-Joon had no where for her thoughts to go except her stuffed dog.

"Daddy, don't forget…my dog…" Ji-Joon pointed to the stuffed animal. Susano retrived it for her and placed it next to her.

"Tomorrow you'll get to see your _Yukata_. Daddy bought it special for you today, as ordered by your mother. You'll love it! It's red with pink and yellow flowers on it." Susano said.

"Is it! I am glad!" Ji-Joon laughed. Susano plucked her pig-tails out of her hair and stroked it's soft color.

"Ji-Joon, your blessed by the gods to have such pretty hair! Maybe one day, you can grow it so long as the _geisha_ do! I used to tie my hair up in _Shinto ties_."

"Daddy, you don't have hair- you're silly!" Ji-Joon remarked.

"But I used to, some people lose their hair- young or old! I used to look very handsome indeed! I was known from school to college to temple and to every store on my block!" Susano made Kamiki village sound like a wonderful city… but it never was. His imagination always sparked his daughter's, and they both inspired each other in many ways.

Susano hugged Ji-Joon tightly and kissed her on the head.

"Don't forget, make sure you pray really hard for the moon to show tomorrow, okay? If it doesn't…" Susano implied that Ji-Joon finish the sentence.

"The gods won't come…" Ji-Joon said without hesitation. The "god facts" were constantly spat at her ever since she was in infant. Kushi would tell Ji-Joon that even as an infant her father would hold her in his arms and tell her stories about the gods. She said Ji-Joon would peak a smile and Susano would applaud himself, "Did you see it, sweetheart! I, Susano, made my daughter smile! She enjoys my stories!"

From the day Ji-Joon was born she was a smiley baby. Every time Kushi and Susano would walk her in their wooden wagon, Ji-Joon caused many to stop and smile. Ji-Joon was the spitting image of her mother, except she wore bangs and pigtails. As an infant, she cried only when hurt, and learned to walk very quickly. With Susano's intense training, he'd lift her arms in the air and call her from the other side of the hallway.

"Ji-Joon~ Where's my little baby girl hiding?" Susano called, and Ji-Joon would respond with lifting herself up and replying with a gargling scream. Susano was proud of his daughter. Even though they both expected a boy, Susano and Kushi admitted that their daughter brought them much more joy than a stubborn boy would. They planned that Ji-Joon's future would be easy, because she would not grow to be strong. Women were not known to be warriors in the day and time. Susano wished nothing of his daughter than for her to be educated and follow in her mother's ways of making alcohol- when she was ready. But Ji-Joon wished to dance. As she tried to sleep, she'd imagine herself dancing for awards and being the best dancer than any _miko_ _or geisha_ in all of Nippon. Proud like her father, she wanted to tell stories of her dancing, but little did she know of her future. Little did anyone know of her future- except Amaterasu.


	3. Chapter 2- The First of the Search

"Okami Amaterasu, mother to us all…" a gentle voice came peering behind the statue of Nagi. The wood sprite, Sakuya, tapped her feet gently as she moved forward to Waka and Amaterasu, who were calm in her presence. Sakuya kept nature in balance. She lived in the Cave of Nagi, and it always led to good fortune to present her and the statue with a gift. Eagerly after she watched Waka place the basket of cherry cakes below her feet, Sakuya picked it up and sat her bare bottom on a boulder. The cherry cakes were warm and filled with the delicious red and gooey cherries, coated in a soft mochi-like pastry. Each time she took a bite, the red goop slid down her face. To Waka and Amaterasu's dismay, it took her quite a long time to regain focus.

" Forgive me…" she said wiping her face, "You know, these cakes were made by the gods, and given to man! What is it I can do for you two?" Sakuya giggled as Amaterasu and Waka exchanged the glance of uncertainty.

"We need passage to the world- Nippon. I need to be human again, and Waka wishes to return to his studies in Sei-An City. Is there any way we can gain that passage?" Amaterasu pleaded as Sakuya titled her head sarcastically.

"Of course there is a way! There is always a way! Why do you ask someone as lowly as me?" Sakuya laughed.

"I ask, because to the mortals I am a beast! Issun… If only Issun was here, he was my translator after all! I need him, Sakuya…"

"Need the bug? I am afraid that he somewhere far away, he is very tiny after all. And being a wandering artist takes a lot of …. Wandering…."

"But do you think, I can become human? Just for a little while?" Amaterasu pleaded once more.

"Hmm… I may make it possible… But what it is you need a human's body for? You are powerful, the mighty beast you are!" Sakuya said proudly in her charming voice. Amaterasu pointed her nose to the ground as Waka stared awkwardly.

"Tsukuyomi… Do you remember him? He was an inch or two taller than me. He had stellar looks, brown hair, brown eyes, and he wore a gorgeous blue and yellow kimono, wrapped in white lace, that was almost like stars and planets revolving around him."

"Tsukuyomi is the moon god! Of course I do remember him! How could I forget his posture and balance, along with strength and courage? Of course my remembrance is with him."

"He is alive- I know he his alive. I crave him so much. I wish for him to see Chibiterasu. He has grown, you've seen!" Amaterasu tried to gain Sakuya's attention as she listened carefully to Amaterasu's attitude and passion. She rambled on about how much she had longed for her husband, and how Chibiterasu had not known him for so many years. Amaterasu halted as she had almost forgot.

"The last five brush gods… they are missing. Where are we to find them? Do you know of them? Where they could be?" Amaterasu bubbled with questions, each popping in Sakuya's face.

"Oh my, slow yourself down! I want to hear the cute prophet speak!" Sakuya watched Waka as he regained his charm and intellect.

"Oui Oui! 'Tis I, the most intelligent Tao prophet in all of Nippon, hear at my master's service! Can you forgive me being so mute? I wish my master a passage to Nippon and to aid her in the search for the last five gods? Could you stop ignoring the tiny question and give the goddess of the sun her wish?" Waka flamboyantly exclaimed as Sakuya blushed.

"Well, of course I can turn you to a human Amaterasu! This whole time I've been confused!" Sakuya said, as a bright light flew from her hands and sparkles of heavenly light filled the cave. It was illuminated as if millions of stars had decided to align in one place, and shine inside of the cave and decorate the room with delight. Before long, Amaterasu's four paws became two pale and tiny feet. Her ears and fur became hair on her head, and her body was thin and elegant. Wearing nothing but a white robe with red lace and a waist-strap, she was like a geisha doll that had come out of the story scrolls and onto land. She was holy indeed.

"Your wish has been granted, you are mortals now, and when you wish to return to the Celestial Plain, you must come back to me, and no other." Sakuya quickly vanished; she did not give Amaterasu a second to thank her, which was odd.

"What was wrong with Miss Sakuya, never does she act so." Amaterasu squinted her eyes at the statue of Nagi and wondered if it had been a trick she had been playing. Waka laughed, "She is quite peculiar yet I understand she hasn't the time for us. So we must get going. We will start at Kamiki Village and work our way around all of Nippon!"

Amaterasu and Waka vanished from the cave, and sat next to the Konohana tree in Kamiki Village. Of course no one in the village would know who they were, or what they were doing there. To the villagers, Amaterasu and Waka were a young girl and boy who were having a picnic by the cherry tree. Amaterasu practiced standing and running, often time stumbling over, not being used to having less support on her legs. Yet as Waka watched her he admired her beauty and when she was having so much fun, she had forgotten about her heavenly speech and figurative language she was required to use. In Nippon, her responsibilities were forgotten, and for the first time, Waka saw Amaterasu have fun.

"Waka, look, I can sprint really fast now! Just watch! I'll go down this hill and do a flip at the end!" Amaterasu prepared herself for a sprint. She pushed her best leg forward, with her other one following in the back. Waka rushed behind her, incase of a fall. "Ma cheerie, slow—" Before Waka could halt Amaterasu from the courageous flip, she had twisted her back sideways from the uneven dirt road, and fell into someone's chest. Looking below himself, Mushi pulled away from Amaterasu's face in his chest with a frightened look.

"You okay, miss?" Mushi asked still in shock of the strange woman. Amaterasu pulled away and brushed off her shirt and felt extremely clumsy as she picked up her sandals that Waka had given to her only an hour ago. They were made from straw, but not rich straw. They were bent and coarse, now that she had scraped them on the ground.

"Goodness, I'm sorry. I should be more worried about you than my sandals!" Amaterasu laughed as Mushi smirked as he still gazed at Amaterasu.

"Golly, you look awful familiar Miss…" he said, "have you been 'round here before?" Mushi offered a helping hand to Amaterasu as she responded, "Well I've been here a long time ago, but it has been so long I have no idea what's changed."

Waka followed behind Amaterasu, but was cautious not to introduce himself-yet.

"Your shoes are wrecked!" Mushi pointed out as Amaterasu giggled, " I know… I should have not attempted what I did."

"My mom surely has another pair for you to wear! You and your friend, come with me, I can get you some lunch and a pair of new shoes!"

Waka followed Amaterasu. He knew she knew more of Kamiki village. But Waka hardly ever came to such a quite place. Waka enjoyed the city and the commotion of groups reading, playing, buying, selling, and preaching. Kamiki was rather quiet, obviously since it had only a fraction of the population of any regular village.

"My name's Mushi. I live with my mother and my dogs over there!" Mushi pointed to his straw house and his dogs, with a little girl by the fence.

"Who's that tiny toddler over there?" Amaterasu asked, "Is she your sister?"

Mushi laughed as he guided the two to the pen of puppies.

"That's Ji-Joon. She's not my sister; she's Kushi and Susano's little girl. She comes over all the time why'll her mother is busy to see the puppies."

"Susano and Kushi… had a girl?" Amaterasu asked confused. She had not kept track of Susano and Kushi, because they were not of much importance to her.

"Yeah, I knew Susano was hoping for a boy, but I think he's realized a little girl is always easier to handle. When she was a baby, Susano and Kushi always took her for walks in Shinshu fields and when she began to walk, they'd take her to the lake for a picnic. They are quite a family. I also always see Mrs. Orange spoiling her with cherry cakes and toys, she's like a grandchild to the Orange's. Ji-Joon has always been our baby..." Mushi poked Ji-Joon on the shoulder. Waka and Amaterasu were intrigued at her face, looking like her mother's, with only her father's nose.

"Ji-Joon, these people are new here. They need shoes, could you find my mom and tell her to find some straw so we can make some?"

Ji-Joon was bored of the puppies for once, and turned to look at the guests.

"Oh! Look at his hair!" Ji-Joon smiled as she went to touch Waka's long blonde hair, which he had forgotten to cover up with his headpiece.

"It's long and yellow. I never sawed hair like his before! How is it like that, Mr.?" Ji-Joon attached herself to Waka's hair as she brushed it with her fingers and poked her head in and out of it.

"Oooo! It's soft!" Ji-Joon played around Waka as he backed away.

"Now n-now young one, find his mother now!" Waka tried to avoid the young girl, who hadn't seen such a color of hair in her life.

"Haha! I'm coming back for you!" Ji-Joon squatted pretending to be a sumo wrestler, then searched for Mushi's mother.

"Why, she already seems like trouble in super cute pigtails!" Amaterasu smiled.

"Well, I'm sure it's because she doesn't have friends her age. She usually likes to dance though, that's her hobby. Mr. Orange teaches her the Konohana shuffle from time to time. But only when she'd old enough to drink she'll understand the power of that difficult dance, and powerful sake!"

"Well, I hope she doesn't dance around my hair anymore, do you have any hair ties, S'il vous plait?" Waka asked.

"We have everything for you, come inside and stay for supper! We'll have everyone in the village over to meet you two. By the way, forgive me for not mentioning, what are your names?"

Amaterasu and Waka froze. They were uncertain of the consequences they'd face if they told their identity. If they happened to tell Mushi their names, they'd risk being accused of being false preachers or a curse by the gods- possibly even demons. Therefore, exchanging glances, they decided on forming aliases.

"My French friend is Wakaki-san, and I am her companion, Amaya-san. It is a pleasure to meet you."


End file.
